I Will Give Them ONE Heart
I Will Give Them ONE Heart
by Mike Shreve
THE PROPHECIES-Two times in the Old Testament a similar, curious prophecy was given concerning the UNITY that would be accomplished among God’s people through the entrance of the New Covenant.
Jeremiah 32:39 promised, “And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them.” Ezekiel 11:19-20 similarly announced, “And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you…and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”
Both times God promised to give His people one heart. The next time this phrase appears in the Bible is the New Testament fulfillment, Acts 4:32-“And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul.” The prophecies came to pass, but only after the church of the New Testament was formed by a supernatural visitation of God.
THE CATALYST-Jesus was the catalyst that caused this oneness of heart to actually happen-and not only among Jewish followers! He also broke down the middle wall of partition that separated Jews and Gentiles, to reconcile them both–to God and to each other-through the cross. In the role of the Great Intercessor, He petitioned the Father concerning the future potential and spiritual nature of the church, “Father…I have given them Thy Word…and the glory which Thou gavest Me, I have given them; that THEY MAY BE ONE, EVEN AS WE ARE ONE.” (John 17:1, 14, 22)
Jesus never prayed a prayer that was not answered, so this oneness of heart was and is definitely an achievable goal. This is simply part of our inheritance and a sign of the New Covenant, through the union of the Word of God and the Spirit of God within us. If this miracle of love could happen in the beginning of the Church Age, it can certainly happen again as we near the end.
THE NEW TESTAMENT MANDATE-The phrase one another dominates the New Testament. Romans 12:5 states that “we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.” The responsibility of this mystical union is then voiced in Galatians 6:2, “Bear…one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
Other scriptures celebrate this spiritual ‘connectedness’ commanding that we “pray for one another,” “edify one another,” “exhort one another,” “receive one another,” “comfort one another,” “love one another” and have “compassion one of another”-“teaching and admonishing one another,” “forgiving one another,” “forbearing one another,” and “in honour preferring one another.”
Such a recurring theme cannot be ignored! When we view all the rifts and divisions, doctrinally and relationally, in the body of Messiah this oneness of heart appears to be nothing more than a nice theory, hardly a practical reality. Yet seeing this should not lessen our fervor to strive toward this lofty goal.
May God grace us with the love, the humility, the sincerity, the mercy, the kindness and the forgiveness necessary to make this oneness a reality-one relationship at a time! May the words one another ring like chapel bells in our souls, awakening us to this cause daily! And may we remember that we can never do this on our own. 2 Chronicles 30:12 explains, “And the hand of God was to give them ONE HEART!”
Mike Shreve has been teaching God’s Word since 1971. He is the founder of Deeper Revelation Books and the visionary behind The True Light Project, an outreach to followers of non-Christian worldviews. Watch Mike’s It’s Supernatural! Television interview with Sid Roth here.
This article reprinted by permission from: https://www.shreveministries.org/.